08.31.07

On paper, you had to figure a matchup of El Duque versus Kyle Fucking Lohse would favor the visitors, but instead, the Mets would conclude August with their 5th consecutive defeat, and 4th in a row to the surging Phillies. And there’s no way to discount how severely momentum in the NL East has shifted over the past week.

The series at CBP had a serious postseason vibe, but only the hosts showed anything approaching poise. Barring a turnaround over the season’s final month, we might well identify Aaron Rowland’s 45 foot squib from Tuesday as the begining of the end for the ’07 Mets. And while Marlon Anderson’s take-out-that-wasn’t was the pivotal play in Wednesday night’s loss, the following are the grim points to ponder after Thursday’s marathon.

* – At what point does the notion of knocking down Pat Burrell become acceptable to the Flushing Pacifists? Burrell’s pair of homers on Wednesday increased his career total against New York to an inexplicable 41. How thoroughly does Burrell own the Metropolitans? Chipper Jones would like Burrell to adopt his kids.

* – Given the recent futility of Guillermo Mota and Aaron Heilman, it’s not totally unexpected that Willie Randolph would summon Billy Wagner as early as the top of the 8th inning. But it’s a pretty desperate scenario when a closer who’s openly professed to having a dead arm is taxed beyond his usual capabilities. While the Mets are hoping Pedro Martinez will represent an improvement in the starting rotation over Brian Lawrence, a miracle recovery from Duaner Sanchez might be of greater need.

Quote of the week award goes to Metsradamus : “You would think that people would know better than to call me fresh after a loss like that. But one call I did take was from Art Howe. He congratulated the team for battling.”

Did I misread on ESPN or Mets.com that yesterday would have been Wagner’s first two inning save in SIX years!? Joe Torre bullpen abuse jokes aside, what the fuck is that about? Is Wagner really that fragile? (The answer is clearly yes, since he can’t even pitch three outs without giving up at least one run)

Is John Franco available? Are the Red Sox looking to salary dump Gagne yet? Can Phil Humber get some of the Joba Juice and a plane ticket to LGA ASAP?

Why can’t I stop looking at Mets.com and hoping for some sort of breaking news like “Pedro throws 98 in bullpen session. Plans to clone him full steam ahead!” and “Mota traded for Freddy Garcia.” ?

The tequila did nothing to numb the anger from last night’s game and my hangover is going to fucking hate it when John Maine shits the bed tonight. The brightside is: At least I’m not a Cubs fan.

I was at the game yesterday. Charlie Manuel practically handed the game to the Mets with his inane decision to play for a DP in the 8th (like you are going to double up Endy Chavez) and giving of all players, Jose Reyes (the go-ahead run), a free pass to wreak his havoc on the basepaths. After this gift, the Mets battery in the 9th seemingly helplessly allowed Werth and Iguchi to run them out of the game. Werth and Iguchi are hardly known as base swiping threats, but looks like nobody caught Phils first base coach Davey Lopes mimicking Wagners delivery while conversing with Werth at 1st base. So, we have a race, but of course, if the Phillies drop the series against the Marlins this weekend, Philly will be back in “they always tease us and let us down”…”choking bums”…”sell the team”..mode, but this past series was the most exciting baseball we have seen in Philly in years and is a highwater mark at CBP.

Please stop the Mets bleeding… That series officially ruined my week. Willie needs to put a charge into the team somehow. A sweep by the Braves this weekend would be totally devastating. I’m not sure how they’ve managed to hold first place for this long.

Quick note on that Francona incident: NY Post reported (and MLB refused to confirm) that the “agent” who came to check up on Francona’s uniform with Jeter on 2nd and Aberu at the plate, was a NYC cop. Think the timing was a coincidence?